Chapter 303: I Am the Plunder King (4)
“W-What? The Plunder King?”
“Didn’t that bastard run away?”
“What the hell! What’s going on? Didn’t the Chief Overseer say he dealt with him?”
Just hearing the name “Plunder King” was enough to make the organization’s members freeze, unable to even think of charging forward. The atrocities committed by the Plunder King up until now were etched too deeply in their minds.
Morvin and the organization’s executives, who had descended to the first floor, wore puzzled expressions. Something about this situation was clearly off.
After a brief moment of thought, Morvin spoke.
“That must be an impersonation. They’re trying to scare us. They’re attacking now because all the executives are gathered here, trying to wipe us out at once.”
Morvin flatly refused to believe that the real Plunder King had appeared. He couldn’t fathom that Claude, his partner in crime, would make such a mistake.
“They’re fakes! The Plunder King was already chased out! My brother got rid of him!”
At Morvin’s confident proclamation, the organization’s members regained some of their courage.
They were well aware of Morvin’s relationship with Claude. Wasn’t it said that they were sworn brothers? Just yesterday, they had even gone to the baths together.
“Kill him!”
At Morvin’s shout, the organization’s members charged at Ghislain.
Ghislain lightly flicked the back of his hand at one of the members who was at the forefront.
Thwack!
Crash!
The unfortunate soul was flung backward, crashing through the wall.
“……?”
Everyone froze in place, unable to move. Sending someone flying with a single casual gesture was not something just anyone could do.
It was a clear sign that this man existed in a realm entirely different from their own.
Whether or not he was truly the Plunder King didn’t matter. What mattered was that he was someone far beyond their ability to handle.
Breaking the heavy silence, Morvin stammered, his voice trembling as he addressed Ghislain.
“W-Who are you?”
“I told you, I’m the Plunder King.”
“I-I heard you left the territory?”
“I came back.”
Ghislain’s calm response made Morvin stutter even more as he tried to keep speaking.
“D-Do you even know who I am? D-Do you know what kind of place this is?”
“I do. A drug den.”
“D-Don’t you know the Chief Overseer has my back? D-Don’t mess with me! W-We’re sworn brothers! Sworn brothers, I said!”
The more Morvin spoke of his connection to Claude, the more his confidence grew.
“Just yesterday, y-you hear me? We had dinner together! And a bath! Yeah, a bath, you bastard! So if you don’t want to die at his hands, leave now!”
“……”
Ghislain didn’t bother to respond. Taking his silence as fear, Morvin grew more animated, even spitting as he spoke.
“If you leave now, I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything. If you need a business, I’ll even give you one. Something decent. Just settle for that, alright? There’s no point in us fighting each other.”
Step.
Ignoring Morvin’s words, Ghislain stepped forward. Morvin, now panicking, shouted at the nearby executives.
“S-Stop him! Hold him back! I-I’ll go tell my brother and bring the knights!”
However, neither the executives nor the members dared to make a move. Who could possibly stand up to a monster like that?
Morvin, almost begging now, cried out.
“You idiots! If he really is the Plunder King, we’re all dead anyway! Don’t you know he kills everyone he captures?”
Although not entirely true, the rumors that he killed most of his captives were widespread enough. The members’ eyes began to harden.
If they were going to die anyway, it was better to swing their weapons at least once before they did. If they could hold out long enough, Morvin might return with reinforcements.
The organization’s members all drew their weapons. A few of the executives patted Morvin on the back, urging him forward.
“Boss! Quickly, go to the Chief Overseer! We’ll hold the line here!”
“D-Damn it! Thank you! I swear I’ll bring the knights back!”
It was a tearful scene. Morvin, actually wiping away tears, ran toward the secret passage.
Until that moment, Ghislain simply watched with disinterest, his expression calm.
The remaining executives shouted at the members.
“Attack!”
“Waaaah!”
As the organization’s members charged, the knights who had been standing behind Ghislain finally stepped forward.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
“Gaaah!”
“You bastards!”
“The boss will definitely avenge us!”
Having grown up in the shadows, the organization’s members fought back with sheer grit. But every time the knights casually swung their fists or weapons, the members fell like flies, one after another. Fear quickly replaced their brief courage.
“Ugh… Monsters…”
“We can’t beat them…”
“How are we supposed to hold out against people like this…”
The criminals began lowering their weapons one by one and dropped to their knees.
“Please spare us!”
“We only did what those bastards told us to do!”
“I’m actually a good person!”
As the organization members surrendered en masse, the executives had no choice but to follow suit. They too dropped to their knees.
“Morvin is the real scumbag!”
“I was threatened into this too!”
“From now on, I’ll live a clean life!”
Everyone had yielded before the Plunder King. Ghislain nodded in satisfaction, his gaze calm but approving.
“Clear this place out completely, and send them there.”
At Ghislain’s command, the knights stepped forward and began roughing up the organization members, sapping their strength.
Thwack!
“Gaaaah!”
With each blow, the criminals dropped unconscious immediately.
Just like that, the entire leadership of Desmond’s underworld was swept away in an instant.
“Huff, huff, huff.”
Though the organization had crumbled, Morvin still clung to hope. He ran so hard that he tasted iron in his mouth.
His destination? The lord’s castle. That was where the Chief Overseer, Claude, resided.
“Stop right there!”
The guards at the gate blocked his way, but Morvin collapsed to the ground, shouting desperately.
“The Chief Overseer! Summon the Chief Overseer immediately!”
“What the hell? Do you think the Chief Overseer is your buddy? You can just see him whenever you want?”
When the guards scoffed at him, Morvin shouted back in an enraged voice.
“You fools! I’m the Chief Overseer’s brother! His brother!”
“…Oh.”
The guards vaguely recalled rumors. It was widely known that Claude had sworn brotherhood with the leader of a crime syndicate.
Since he was screaming about being the Chief Overseer’s brother, they couldn’t outright ignore him. Reluctantly, one of the guards went to inform Claude.
“What? That bastard’s here?”
Claude was startled. If word of this got out, it would be disastrous! Why would Morvin show up at a place like this?
‘The lord went to deal with them but must have missed him, huh?’
Regardless, he couldn’t just leave things as they were. Waving his hand dismissively, Claude ordered coldly.
“Throw him out. He’s as good as dead anyway.”
“We tried, but he refuses to leave. He’s threatening to expose your secrets if we kick him out.”
“That bastard’s lost his mind!”
Feigning an air of righteousness, Claude shot to his feet, fuming. He stormed out, flanked by a large contingent of soldiers.
When Morvin saw him arrive, he cried out in relief.
“Brother! Please help me! The Plunder King is”
“Seize him! Quickly!”
“Brother?”
“You scoundrel! Do you even know where you are? How dare a lowlife criminal like you come to see me here!”
Claude’s voice thundered with authority. Soldiers and servants began to gather around, drawn by the commotion.
Panicking, Claude raised his voice further, his tone almost hysterical.
“Drag him to the dungeon right now!”
The soldiers moved to seize Morvin. It was only then that Morvin realized Claude intended to throw him under the bus.
His face twisted into a demonic snarl as he screamed.
“You bastard! Do you know how much bribe money I’ve given you? How can you betray me like this?!”
“What? I’ve never taken a bribe! Don’t slander me! I’m pure and incorruptible!”
“I’ve got proof! I’ve kept detailed records! My men will expose everything!”
“Shut up! It’s all fabricated! I’ve done no such thing!”
The Chief Overseer of an estate was now grappling with a known criminal in front of a crowd of people. Standing nearby, Wendy pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation.
Morvin, unwilling to go down alone, yelled for all to hear.
“What do you mean, no such thing? During the war, we sent men to aid your soldiers! And you took jewels from me every week as payment! You call yourself a human being? Did you think I’d die quietly?”
Though he spoke confidently, the crowd’s reaction was tepid at best. Morvin glanced around in confusion.
‘What’s going on? Do they trust the Chief Overseer that much? Do they really think he’s incorruptible?’
But upon closer inspection, their expressions weren’t ones of trust or belief. Instead, they seemed to ask, “And?” as if everything he said was a foregone conclusion.
‘What… What’s this? Isn’t he the Chief Overseer? Shouldn’t this kind of behavior be unacceptable?’
How could someone build such a reputation that their sins didn’t even faze people anymore? Why had the lord allowed such a person to remain in power? Morvin couldn’t make sense of it.
Realizing that the people weren’t reacting, Claude let out a sigh of relief and smoothed his tone.
“See? Nobody believes those lies. Take him away!”
Morvin, his face now resigned, was dragged off. He finally understood what was widely known couldn’t be used as a secret or a threat.
He had lived his life like a frog in a well, ignorant of the larger world.
And that ignorance had cost him dearly. So much so that he didn’t even realize he was already marked for destruction.
In one swift strike, the numerous criminal organizations of Desmond’s territory were completely wiped out. Most of the criminals, unaware of what had happened, were dragged off to the Labor Assault Team’s Special Training Facility.
The territory’s residents were largely oblivious to the details. They simply felt relief that the thugs who had been tormenting them had suddenly disappeared.
With the majority of the criminals gone, incidents and accidents drastically decreased. The residents, now receiving abundant supplies, began to stabilize their lives.
“Don’t you think security has gotten better lately? I guess it’s because more soldiers have been stationed here.”
“Our lord turns out to be a good man. He doesn’t randomly arrest people, and he even shares food with us.”
“See? You can’t trust rumors. Where else would you find a lord like this these days?”
“But what’s with the Chief Overseer? I heard he’s been taking bribes from criminals. Still, I suppose it’s a relief that he doesn’t bother the residents.”
Praise for Ghislain increased, while Claude’s reputation continued to plummet.
As the Labor Assault Team filled its ranks and public sentiment rapidly stabilized, Ghislain couldn’t hide his satisfaction. Stabilizing occupied territories was always the top priority.
Having completed this critical task, he gathered his retainers and declared:
“Now, let’s begin the next phase.”
The news of Ghislain’s victory in the war brightened the mood in the capital as well. Nobles who had invested in Ghislain’s ventures and the royal faction nobles alike shared in the celebration.
Their victory provided a decisive shift, reversing the dominance of the ducal factions.
However, the senior nobles of the royal faction couldn’t purely rejoice at Ghislain’s success.
“That… little brat achieved that? What? Heavy Cavalry? A 6th-Circle Mage? The North’s Strongest Sword? Are you sure about this?”
The Supreme Commander of the Kingdom’s army, Marquis Maurice McQuarrie, repeated his questions to Viscount Clifton, commander of the Third Legion.
Each time, Viscount Clifton responded with a calm and unwavering expression.
“Yes, it’s certain. The Northern Army Commander possesses power befitting his position. Fenris is now the strongest in the North.”
“…”
The words left Maurice and the other royal faction nobles speechless.
Fenris, the strongest in the North? It was hard to believe that the young fledgling they had initially seen had grown so much in such a short time.
Of course, there was still Raypold, who rivaled Desmond, but the royal faction nobles didn’t pay him much mind.
They were confident that Amelia’s leadership as lord would soon lead to failure, given her status as a woman.
Even her victory against the Northern Allied Forces was dismissed as sheer luck due to Raypold’s inherent strength and the incompetence of the other Northern lords.
Maurice finally spoke, struggling with the words.
“Are we… handling this the right way? That little brat being the strongest in the North… is this okay?”
Though they had supported Ghislain, they never intended for him to grow this much. He had become too powerful. Controlling him was already difficult before; now that he was a Grand Lord, how could they manage him?
‘What if he bares his fangs at us instead?’
Maurice bit his lips anxiously at the thought.
A noble, still unable to believe the situation, chuckled and said:
“The Ferdium forces and the Kingdom’s army supported him, didn’t they? That’s why he won. He couldn’t have done it alone.”
“…”
No one replied to those words.
While they weren’t entirely wrong, the exploits Clifton reported about Ghislain’s performance couldn’t be dismissed as merely aided by support.
What if the massive army Ghislain had recruited had been fully trained?
In that case, he might have crushed Count Desmond without any external assistance. In other words, Fenris truly deserved to be called the strongest in the North.
The Marquis of Branford had a complicated expression on his face.
“Haha, who would’ve thought that kid would actually win.”
The Marquis of Branford, like the others, found it difficult to believe what he was hearing. However, with someone who had directly participated in the war speaking so confidently, how could he not believe?
‘I need to reassess the information I’ve received.’
Many of the rumors he had dismissed as nonsense now seemed as though they might be true.
Still, he couldn’t help but feel pleased. Seeing the person he had supported rise to such heights brought undeniable satisfaction as a benefactor.
It was then that Maurice, his expression hardening, turned to the Marquis of Branford and said:
“He’s growing too powerful. Don’t you think it’s time we put a stop to it?”
The other nobles nodded in agreement, adding their own thoughts.
“He’s growing too quickly. What we wanted was for the Count of Fenris to act as a counterbalance in the North, not for him to dominate it.”
“Wasn’t he arrogant from the beginning? As time goes on, he’ll become even harder to control.”
“Marquis, perhaps it’s time to withdraw your support and guide him to act in favor of the royal faction.”
Hearing this, the Marquis of Branford’s brow twitched. He had been feeling quite proud, yet now they were pouring cold water on his moment of satisfaction.
While Ghislain’s achievements were undeniably great, at the end of the day, he had only taken down Count Desmond.
The duchy and its subordinate lords remained strong. For these nobles to already start squabbling internally was utterly pathetic.
The Marquis spoke in a resolute tone:
“That’s out of the question. Under no circumstances should we touch the Count of Fenris.”
“…”
“The Count of Fenris will be a significant force in our fight against the ducal faction. Do not forget that our true enemy is the ducal faction.”
His unyielding stance left the nobles unable to argue further.
Of course, the Marquis of Branford wasn’t entirely without concern. An ally who could not be controlled was sometimes more dangerous than an enemy.
But removing Ghislain now would only serve to benefit the ducal faction.
“Remember our goal. Any issues with the Count of Fenris can be addressed after we deal with the ducal faction.”
The royal faction nobles reluctantly nodded in agreement. However, Maurice harbored slightly different thoughts.
“Tsk, didn’t we suppress internal strife just fine without the Count of Fenris? If anything, that brat’s recklessness has caused more problems. Sooner or later, even Branford will come around.”
After finishing his duties at the royal court, the Marquis of Branford returned home and summoned his steward.
“Release Count Fowd.”
With Ghislain victorious in the war, there was no longer any need to suppress the ducal faction nobles who had been detained in the capital.
Count Fowd, dragged out in a disheveled state, gave a resigned smile.
“Seeing that I’ve been released, I assume the Count of Fenris has won.”
“Return home, Count. I hope we can avoid further unpleasantness.”
At the Marquis’s words, Count Fowd replied in a weary voice.
“My lord, you’ve made a mistake. You should not have helped the Count of Fenris.”
“What do you mean?”
The count, adopting a look of resigned acceptance, continued.
“With Count Desmond removed, civil war is inevitable.”
“The ducal faction’s ambitions for the throne are common knowledge. It’s the royal faction that has been suppressing that civil war.”
“No, my lord. You still don’t understand.”
The Marquis frowned, displeased by the count’s condescending tone.
“What is it you’re trying to say?”
“It’s not the royal faction that has been suppressing the civil wa rit’s Viscount Raul Joseph of the ducal faction.”
“Viscount Joseph?”
The Marquis, recalling the man nicknamed the ‘Lame Demon,’ was incredulous. How could such a ruthless figure be responsible for suppressing internal strife?
Count Fowd, wearing a faint but bitter smile, explained:
“He is a rational man. All we wanted was to spill as little blood as possible. And the one who persuaded the Duke was none other than Viscount Joseph.”
“…”
“Have you forgotten what kind of person the Duke is?”
“…”
“Now, the kingdom will be bathed in blood.”
Count Fowd bowed his head as though he truly lamented what was to come.